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Greencastle girls' can't pull out win
Lizton--Having lost to one potential sectional opponent in Beech Grove in November, Greencastle's girls' basketball team had a chance to even up its intersectional record with a trip to Tri-West Tuesday night.
Both team shot better than 50 percent in the first half but while the Bruins continued to do so in the second half, the Tiger Cub offense stalled out in a 64-50 loss.
Greencastle coach Bradley Key said the team came out and played loose in a tough game early.
"I like how we came out in the first half," Key said. "I thought we came out relaxed, moved the ball well and got some good shots.
"We probably don't want them scoring 30 in the first half but they made some shots as well. It was two good basketball teams playing in the first half.
"We knew Tri-West was a good team," Key said. "They won the sectional and did not lose a whole lot of games, so we knew it was going to be a tough game."
Offense was not a problem in the first half as both squads used long offensive sets to settle into the game and ended the first quarter tied at 12-12.
Greencastle would have its best offensive quarter in the second, knocking down four three-pointers and scoring 20 points. Tri-West had four three-pointers as well but trailed the Tiger Cubs 32-30 at the break.
Jessica Lenihan helped key the offense by scoring eight of her team high 16 points in the quarter as part of a double-double effort, gathering 12 rebounds on the night.
The game altered heavily in the third quarter when the hosts hit the Tiger Cubs with a quick 9-0 run behind two Katrina Headlee threes and another triple from Madison Sprecher.
Key said that the team stopped attacking the basket like they had in early in the game.
"I felt like we stopped attacking like we did in the first half," Key said. "We got some open shots because we were running an offense that wasn't rushed and fundamental.
"In the second half, we broke down and took some quick shots. We missed some layups and had some opportunities to knock down some bunnies but we didn't."
A 9-2 run allowed Tri-West to take a 50-41 lead into the fourth quarter and Karen Jones bullied her way around the basket for eight points in the final frame to help seal the deal for the Bruins.
Unlike in their loss to Beech Grove, Key said that the team had not had to match points with a top level opponent yet this season.
"I felt like we let a couple of their shooters get loose," Key noted. "They can hit one or two but we can't let them hit three or four or five.
"Coming into the second half, we pointed out that (Headlee) had knocked down a few shots and we needed to cover her up. In the first couple of minutes third quarter, she got loose twice, which can't happen.
"We did a good job on Jones in the first half," Key added. "In the second half, she was able to take over, mainly because we were focused on their shooters."
"We haven't seen a team that has shot that well against us yet and you have to give credit to Tri-West. When Beech Grove beat us, it was a lot of defensive stuff and they didn't beat us with offense."
Greencastle returns to action on Saturday with a midday trip to Edgewood. Key said Greencastle could not buckle under the pressure the Mustangs were likely going to try and impose upon them.
"Edgewood puts pressure on you all over the court," Key said. "If we're not able to handle the pressure, we're going to have some issues.
"We'll get back to practice and make sure we're attacking the basket, not play on our heels and do the things we know we can do. We saw some good things tonight but we have to put it together for four quarters like good teams do."
At Tri-West
Greencastle 12 20 9 9 -- 50
Tri-West 12 18 20 14 -- 64
Statistics
Scoring
Greencastle -- 20-51 FG, 8-27 3-FG, 2-3 FT -- Lenihan 16, Bridgewater 8, Taylor 8, Stoltey 8, Bragg 5, Burgeson 3, Trout 2, White 0
Tri-West -- 25-47 FG, 9-18 3-FG, 5-6 FT -- Headlee 20, Jones 17, Sprecher 9, Johnson 8, Jobe 8, VanDyke 2
Rebounds (Offensive)
Greencastle 31 (16); Tri-West 34 (17)
Assists
Greencastle 13; Tri-West 13
Steals
Greencastle 2; Tri-West 4
Blocks
Greencastle 0; Tri-West 0
Turnovers
Greencastle 13; Tri-West 11
Fouls
Greencastle 9; Tri-West 8
Next Game: Greencastle (6-2) travels to Edgewood Saturday at 12:30 pm.